OKLAHOMA CITY – Bethel (Kan.) defeated Oklahoma City University 3-1 on a hot Tuesday afternoon at Brian Harvey Field in the home season-opener for the Stars.
 
Bethel (1-0) took a 1-0 lead when Tomas Roman finished a long run with a shot inside the right post in the 35th minute. The Threshers pushed the lead to 2-0 when Juan Pablo ended another long run by slipping the ball into the net past a diving OCU senior goalkeeper Danilo Vilani in the 53rd minute.
 
OCU (1-1) sophomore Tommaso Belli cut the deficit to 2-1 when he found the net after a flubbed kick attempt outside of the box by Bethel goalkeeper Colton Rothwell but that's as close as the Stars would get. Bethel's Jose Rojas capped off his team's scoring by finding the net on a right to left shot from 15 yards out in the 67th minute.
 
OCU finished with a 21-10 edge in total shots and 8-7 margin in shots on goal with Belli pacing the Stars with seven shots. Rothwell finished with six saves for Bethel and Vilani recorded four saves for the Stars.
 
The Stars return to action on Saturday with a non-conference game at Southwestern (Kan.). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Hoodoo Park.